A nursing home is a multi-unit residential building for persons who are ill or disabled and who need constant availability of medical attention or nursing care. Patients in a nursing home are generally supervised by nurses or doctors 24 hours a day, unlike at retirement homes where medical or nursing care is available only as needed.

The building is a home for its residents as well as a place of care. Continuous availability of attention is part of the living arrangement.

A retirement home provides on-site care as needed without the same round-the-clock supervision. Advanced age alone does not distinguish these two care arrangements.